{"id":9282,"date":"2026-09-18T13:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T12:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newtonimpact.com\/?post_type=content_library&p=9282"},"modified":"2026-09-18T14:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T13:00:54","slug":"protecting-the-future-pl-while-improving-this-one","status":"publish","type":"content_library","link":"https:\/\/newtonimpact.com\/en-us\/content-library\/blog\/protecting-the-future-pl-while-improving-this-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting the future P&L while improving this one\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Take Me Back<\/a>\n\n

Protecting the future P&L while improving this one\u00a0<\/h1>\n

By Fiona Bennie<\/p>\n\n

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Partner, Impact and Innovation<\/p>\n <\/span>\n \n

Blog<\/p>\n <\/span>\n \n \n

18th September 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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The darkling beetle thrives in conditions most species never see coming, adapted not just for today’s climate but for whatever arrives next.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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Implementation has always been the holy grail of sustainability, but it was never going to be a top priority until it started showing up on the P&L. Rising input costs, packaging levies and supply failures, to name a few, mean the financial cost of climate risk are increasingly visible. Smart consumer businesses are using cost programmes to not only impact this year\u2019s P&L but protect subsequent years too. <\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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I remember the early optimism<\/span> vividly. It is almost two decades since M&S launched Plan A, with Unilever\u2019s Sustainable Living Plan close behind, and it was genuinely exciting to be part of Team Sustainability. <\/span>No dou<\/span>bt, <\/span>t<\/span>here<\/span> has been real progress. Since last year, Vinted has led French apparel sales by volume<\/span> (1)<\/span>. In the US, products marketed on sustainability take more than a quarter of all <\/span>consumer<\/span> packaged goods sales and keep outgrowing their conventional rivals<\/span> (2)<\/span>. Tesco has just hit its target of 65% of sales from healthier products<\/span> (3)<\/span>. But the fundamentals of the consumer product business model are <\/span>largely unchanged<\/span>, and the UN describes progress against its Sustainable Development Goals as fragile<\/span> (4)<\/span>. <\/span>In reality, we<\/span> have never been better enabled to consume. <\/span>V<\/span>irgin plastic production<\/span> is <\/span>still forecast to grow at <\/span>nearly 10%<\/span> a year over the next decade<\/span> (5)<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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What is changing? <\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n\n
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More recently, the conversations have.<\/span><\/span> In the past six to twelve months<\/span>,<\/span> they have<\/span> in<\/span>creasingly<\/span> moved into the CCO\u2019s office, the supply chain function, <\/span>operations<\/span> and innovation. <\/span>Perhaps in<\/span> a different language: volatility, cost, availability of quality materials, resilience. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>S word<\/span> itself is getting quieter, and the commercial terms used to describe sustainability risks are getting louder. Energy and material prices are up and supply has become unreliable.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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Where cotton or tomatoes grow well this season may not be where they grow well next, and when a drought breaks a supply chain<\/span>,<\/span> the fallback is often airfreight, an expensive \u2018panic\u2019 decision. <\/span>R<\/span>isks sustainability teams have been voicing for a decade are now being debated in board rooms, <\/span>corridors<\/span> and planning cycles.<\/span> Business leaders rightly focus on this year\u2019s P&L. Far less brainpower has gone into protecting the future <\/span>P&L<\/span>. And for too long, outstanding sustainability and resilience <\/span>expertise<\/span> has been on the bench, part of the team but rarely on the field, consumed by regulation and disclosure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Protecting the future P&L is not <\/span>a <\/span><\/strong>reporting framework.<\/strong> <\/span>It is a decision tool.<\/strong> This year\u2019s P&L and a modelled view of<\/span> future<\/span> growth<\/span> oppo<\/span>r<\/span>tunities<\/span> and<\/span> costs<\/span> avoide<\/span>d<\/span>,<\/span> for e<\/span>xample,<\/span> give<\/span>s con<\/span>fi<\/span>denc<\/span>e on <\/span>what<\/span> to <\/span>prioritise<\/span> and <\/span>to what<\/span> commerci<\/span>al end<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a tactical opportunity in this too. <\/span>Almost every<\/span> large retail and consumer business is running cost-out programmes <\/span>at the moment<\/span>, across operations, manufacturing, <\/span>procurement<\/span> and assortment. Circumstances have made them unavoidable. Those programmes are already gathering exactly the data a forward view needs, so fold<\/span>ing<\/span> resilience in while the work is underway<\/span>, makes s<\/span>ense<\/span>. <\/span>One programme then does two jobs: it takes cost out of this year\u2019s P&L and keeps future cost out of the next ones, the <\/span>ones <\/span>that climate shocks, regulation and supply headwinds would otherwise add.<\/span> Half the work has already been done because for every cost impact there is a sustainability mirror, in results already delivered and the potential still on the table. <\/span><\/p>\n

R<\/span>ecent transformation programmes<\/span> provide <\/span>clear<\/span> evidence<\/span>. In one, reducing <\/span>12% <\/span>transport costs led to emissions reductions, while in another<\/span>,<\/span> cost of goods savings <\/span>of \u20ac125 million <\/span>shrank <\/span>the amount<\/span> of material and resource <\/span>required<\/span>. Range optimisation increased gross margin <\/span>by 3%<\/span>,<\/span> cut <\/span>overproduction<\/span> and decreased unsold stock. Lighter packaging cut costs and freight volume<\/span> by 3 to 4%<\/span>, and reducing waste <\/span>by 15%<\/span> improved production processes<\/span> by 50%<\/span>.<\/span> Correcting overbuying at single-style level cut cost and avoided 15 tonnes of CO2e per season. <\/span>And so on.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n

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The evidence<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n
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12% fall in transport costs cut emissions with it<\/h3>\n

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\u20ac125 million annualised cost of goods saving increased material and resource efficiency <\/h3>\n

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Range optimisation improved gross margin by 3% and cut overproduction and unsold stock<\/h3>\n

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15% waste reduction enabled a 50% throughput increase on production lines<\/h3>\n

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Correcting overbuying at single-style level cut cost and avoided 15 tonnes of CO2e per season<\/h3>\n

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Lighter packaging cut ocean freight volume by 3 to 4%<\/h3>\n

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Commercial teams are on the case and are starting to pull their sustainability people into debating and solving the <\/span>tough<\/span> problems<\/span> that<\/span> put <\/span>th<\/span>e<\/span>ir<\/span> business<\/span> mod<\/span>el<\/span> at <\/span>risk<\/span>, like how to keep good quality fresh food on shelves, not just this financial year but well into the future too.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Protecting the future P&L, as it turns out, is not a new programme. It is an <\/span>additional<\/span> question, asked of commercial work already up and running. Keep asking where the savings are. Then ask which future costs and risks this programme could help you avoid, and what every saving is worth in<\/span> bot<\/span>h<\/span> commer<\/span>cial and <\/span>carbon terms<\/span>.<\/span> That is the moment a cost programme starts informing strategy as well as improving this year\u2019s P&L.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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References<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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  1. IFM Barometer: Vinted, Amazon and Kiabi lead sales volume in the first quarter, FashionNetwork.com<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Circana and NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, Sustainable Market Share Index 2025<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Tesco, Sustainability Report 2026, and coverage of the 65% healthier sales milestone, February 2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, United Nations<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Virgin Plastic Packaging Market outlook, Towards Packaging<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n
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    Want to talk to Fiona directly?<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n\n Get in touch<\/span>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n
    \n \n \n <\/svg>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n \n \n <\/svg>\n\n \n \n <\/svg>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n ","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":9291,"template":"","content_type":[20],"markets":[38,37],"class_list":["post-9282","content_library","type-content_library","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","content_type-blog","markets-consumer-goods","markets-retail"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProtecting the future P&L while improving this one\u00a0 - Newton<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n